The Looking Glass
by lightsthecity
Summary: Because as hard as she tries, fame will always be everything for Tawni Hart. Oneshot. Implied Channy.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**AN: This is a little different for me. Anyways, enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

_The looking glass, so shiny and new  
How quickly the glamor fades_

She imagines the mirror breaking. She tries to remind herself that _she's Tawni Hart_, but the mirror still falls to the ground. As it's falling, she sees pale blue and she wonders where the twinkle in her eye went.

She's jolted back into reality by someone entering the dressing room and then she remembers. It's that perky _Sonny Monroe _who got everything that was rightfully hers, including Chad Dylan Cooper. It would have been perfect, leading lady, leading man; the top two actors at the studio. Marketing genius. The tabloids would have eaten it up. But _no_, he looks at _her_ in a way that she didn't think he was capable of. She sees their little fights in the halls and like everyone else, and she knows that it's decided that they're the next power couple, even if they don't know it yet.

"Tawni?"

She responds through a mouthful of lip-gloss she's using to hide her frown, "Mm?"

"Which cardigan goes better with my dress? The metallic silver one or the purple one that flows?"

She's so naive Tawni wants nothing more than to slap her, just to show her what _hurt_ feels like. She responds through gritted teeth and a winning smile, "Silver. Obviously."

/

When Sonny comes to rehearsal with rosy cheeks and swollen lips, Tawni stays silent, but she can tell; they've started. It's only a matter of time before there is press everywhere, and all they ask of her is insight into how the happy couple started. Her mouth forms a thin line whenever they ask the question, but she answers with a grin and plays the part of the overjoyed best friend, even though it was never the part she was born to play.

They don't understand. Fame is all she has, and its slipping through her fingers at an alarming rate. She wants to stop it, but truthfully, she doesn't know if she can.

She tries to regain the spotlight by dating Skylar from the Falls. But they're just two people forever stuck in second place, and everyone can see that. So, like everything else in her life, they fall apart. (And no one cares, not even her)

But she's still _Tawni Hart_, and that has to mean something. She wants to show the world what it means, but she starts with Sonny and Chad.

/

She and Sonny both sit on red mock-velvet chairs in the waiting room, auditioning for the same part. Sonny's smacking gum and rambling on about how nervous she is and oh, how she wishes Chad was there to comfort her thoughts. Tawni expertly tunes her out but thinks angrily, _you can have the boy, but it's my turn to be number one._

She's called into the audition room and works the panel like she's been at this her whole life. And she has, because ever since her first birthday it's been about the _fame_, and the _look_, and the _money_. Her mother had spoken to her before the audition, "Remember, this is what we've been working towards; a starring role in a feature film. Your face on thousands of posters around the country. Do you _want_ this?" and Tawni responds as powerfully as her sinking heart lets her, "Yes. I need this."

And she gets it. She calls her mother first and they share a business moment. That's all.

Sonny is _so happy _for her that she congratulates her two minutes after she gets the phone call.

Tawni's face brightens, "Thank you," and she adds coldly, "I hear you're playing the best friend?" _how fitting._

"Yep! I'm so excited! My first movie, we should celebrate!"

She doesn't respond, but her face closes at the thought of her moment being taken away from her. Sonny doesn't even realize, because only seconds later, Chad Dylan Cooper sneaks up behind his girlfriend and slinks his arm around her. "Congratulations, Sonny!" Tawni clears her throat subtly, and he glances at her for less than a second, "Oh, congratulations to you too, Tawni!"

Oh. Tawni Hart has fallen from a headline to a footnote.

_Will it ever be enough?_

/

She imagines fixing the broken mirror. It's back on the wall with only a few visible cracks. She uses her lip-gloss to write 'star' on the top and her tears to fix the cracks. _Good as new_. Almost.

Tawni Hart does not give up. She steals the movie and Sonny's part is so far reduced that she doesn't even make the opening credits. Tawni doesn't understand, though. Sonny never falters, she still has the same smile plastered on her face. She hates her because she's happy, _and you're not_, she tells herself. (over and over again)

That day, Tawni realizes something; for some people, _fame _isn't everything. And she's, for the millionth time, jealous of Sonny Monroe.

Because as hard as she tries, fame will always be everything for Tawni Hart.

_Midas is king and he holds me so tight_  
_And turns me to gold in the sunlight_

**

* * *

**

Song is 'Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)' by Florence + the Machine.

**Thoughts? Please let me know in a review.**


End file.
